Manager Amee Clark FA WSL 2 4th | Stadium New Ferens Park | |
FA Women's Cup Fifth round (Eliminated by Notts County) WSL Cup Preliminary round (Eliminated by Sheffield) Top goalscorer League: Beth Hepple (11)
All: Beth Hepple (16) | ||
The 2016 Durham Women's F.C. season was the third season of football played by Durham Women's F.C.. They competed in FA WSL 2, the second tier of women's football in England, and also took part in the FA Women's Cup and the FA WSL Cup.
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Background
Durham Women's F.C. were formed in 2013 through a merger between South Durham & Cestria Girls Football Club and the sport department of Durham University. The two organisations had joined forces specifically to apply for a place in the new FA WSL 2, and they became founder members of the division when it began play in 2014.
Their first two seasons had seen them finish in sixth place in 2014, and seventh place in 2015, but they hoped the 2016 season would mark an improvement in form that would lift them into the top four teams of the division.
Pre-season
There was a small amount of activity in the transfer market involving the club over the off-season, with three players leaving and three joining. Northern Ireland international Julie Nelson announced on Twitter the day after the final game of the 2015 season that she would be leaving the club. Caroline Dixon, who had missed the entire 2015 campaign due to a serious knee injury, was released in early December, and goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse left to join WSL 1 side Doncaster Rovers Belles just before Christmas.
The three players brought in were goalkeeper Megan Borthwick from Newcastle United, who was signed to replace the outgoing Moorhouse, and defenders Becky Salicki and Sarah McFadden (a former Northern Irish international), who both joined from Sunderland.
Beth Hepple received international recognition over the winter with call-ups to England Under-20 training camps in October, November and January, while Chloe Macek was placed on stand-by for the England Under-19 training camp in October.
February
The first team returned to competitive football on 7 February when they faced fellow FA WSL 2 side London Bees at The Hive in the third round of the 2015–16 FA Women's Cup. Durham recorded an emphatic 9–0 victory over the Bees, with Beth Hepple scoring a hat-trick and Jordan Atkinson and Natalie Gutteridge both netting twice. Chloe Macek and Jessica White scored the remaining two goals. The fourth round saw the Wildcats record a home win over FA Women's Premier League side Charlton Athletic. Gutteridge (x2) and Hepple were the scorers in a 3–1 victory that secured a place in the fifth round.
March
The FA Women's Cup had now reached the fifth round, at which point the WSL 1 teams joined the competition. Durham had been given a difficult draw, away to top flight Notts County. The game went to form and the Lady Pies ran out 3–1 winners. Rachel Williams (x2) and Ellen White gave County a three-goal lead, before Beth Hepple scored a late consolation for the Wildcats.
Three days after their elimination from the FA Cup, Durham travelled to Sheffield for the opening game of the 2016 FA WSL season.
April
Sarah McFadden was recalled to the Northern Ireland national team, her first call-up for over two years. Durham's only match in April saw them record a comfortable 5–1 victory over Oxford United towards the end of the month, which maintained their position at the top of the WSL 2 table.
May
Durham added to their squad when they signed midfielder Tyler Dodds from Sunderland on the 18th.
June
A mid-season break for the WSL meant that there was little activity in June. The only match came at the end of the month when Durham hosted Yeovil Town at New Ferens Park. Yeovil, who were top of the league going into the game, recorded a 2–0 win with Atlanta Primus and Sarah Wiltshire scoring the goals.
July
The month began with the signing of former Notts County winger Emily Roberts, who had been on loan to Doncaster Belles in 2015 and spent the early part of the 2016 season playing for Sheffield. She made her debut for the Wildcats three days later in a 3–0 victory over Aston Villa, which saw Durham move up to third place in the WSL table.
Shortly afterwards Lauren Jordinson left the club to join Watford for the remainder of the 2016 season, due to her taking up an internship in High Wycombe. The next match ended in a scoreless draw with second-placed Bristol City, which allowed Everton to climb above them in the league table, dropping Durham to 4th.
Durham made the long journey to Yeovil Town on the 24th, where they suffered their heaviest defeat of the season to date. Sarah Wiltshire and Helen Bleazard both scored, and Ann-Marie Heatherson netted twice in the Somerset team's 4–0 victory. The day after the game it emerged that Wiltshire was three months pregnant, and this would be her final match until after the birth of her baby.
September
Defender Sarah McFadden won her fiftieth international cap for Northern Ireland in a UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifier at home to Italy.